


Words Will Always Hurt Me

by oh_stars_im_tired



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Angst, Canon Lesbian Character, F/F, Heart-to-Heart, Pre-Relationship, Swearing, mentions of the d slur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29978631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_stars_im_tired/pseuds/oh_stars_im_tired
Summary: One short, vile word leads to a physical altercation. Vi, in trouble, learns something about her boss in the aftermath.
Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	Words Will Always Hurt Me

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot of f-bombs. A lot. The d-slur is also used against Vi. My mother would be disappointed reading this.

Today had been rough. Vi had spent hours rounding up a group of four teenaged vandals for arrest, dealing with their snide comments and petty threats. She knew daddy’s money would bail them out of their twenty-four-hour jail sentence. She knew her hair was pink, thank you very much. Most frustratingly, she knew that shutting them up with force would only land her in deep shit with the top-dogs.

She practically dragged the two loudest teens into the Halls of Justice, tossing them in the direction of the booking team, thrilled to have them taken off her hands. “They’re kids, Vi,” the officer at her side said, uncuffing the other two before ushering them towards the bookers. Vi rolled her eyes.

“Gotta learn some day,” she replied nonchalantly, releasing the pressure pistons on her gauntlets, hissing at the relief. _Good fucking riddance_.

Too drained to carry them to tech, Vi let the gauntlets fall on the floor with a thud. Groaning, she cracked her knuckles.

“I’m surprised, Vi! All their teeth are firmly intact,” an annoyingly flippant voice echoed from the booking station. Markus, she identified instantly. _Pretentious fucker_.

Irritated furthermore, Vi span on her heel to face the officer. “Just following orders, sir. Not that it would have mattered. Spoiled brats would have asked mommy and daddy to pay for new teeth anyways.” She forced a smile and polite tone, hoping to promptly get the fuck out of there.

Sadly, Markus didn’t know when to shut his mouth.

“It perplexes me how they let you handle minors. I mean, think about it, you may be _the worst_ person for the job!” He let out a smug chortle. Vi wanted to strangle him. “I’d love to know what was going through the sheriff’s mind when she assigned you to this case.”

“Gee, I don’t know,” she began sarcastically, teeth gritted. “It’s almost as if I have first-hand experience with young convicts. Or – get this – I understand the psychology behind being in their position! Wouldn’t that be fuckin’ convenient?”

The bastard wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Crude, loud-mouthed dyke,” he muttered, earning some chuckles from the officers around him.

Dyke.

_Dyke_.

Her blood boiled.

“I’m sorry, the fuck did you just call me?” Vi seethed, taking a stride towards Markus. Her fists were clenched instinctively.

“My, is the sheriff’s charity case offended?” The altercation had earned a small crowd of onlookers. A sensible voice told her to step back, cuss him out, but the deafening pounding of her pulse drowned it out.

“Don’t you fucking _dare_ use that word.”

“What, _dyke_? I thought you’d embrace the word, since you flaunt your disgusting lifestyle on the regular―”

A sickening crack. A cry of agony. Gasps.

Markus fell to the floor, clutching his now fractured jaw as Vi massaged the fist that broke it. Dull pain throbbed in her knuckles. Wordlessly, she kicked him in the stomach and spat on his pathetically curled frame.

The hall was silent, save for the bastard’s whimpers of pain. All eyes on her.

Vi looked around. “The fuck are you looking at? Get back to work.” Her steeled, furious tone earned no questions. Adrenaline fading away, she silently made her way to her office.

* * *

Concentrating on her paperwork was damn impossible after what had happened. Her coffee was cold, her pen still full to the brim with ink. Hell, she wrote the wrong date at the top of her report. All Vi could think about was that fucking word.

Interrupting her furious silence, two polite knocks sounded on the door.

_Shit_. She knew that knock. She forgot how much trouble she’d be in.

“Vi?”

She set her pen down. “Open,” she called out, preparing for the scolding that was to come. The rickety door creaked open as her boss walked in.

“Look, I fucked up―”

“Vi, I just want to know what happened.” Caitlyn’s voice was calm and didn’t harbour an ounce of anger. Vi couldn’t decide if that was better or worse than being yelled at.

She stood up from her chair as Caitlyn closed the door. Gods, she was in deep shit.

“I’m not going to stand there and take homophobic abuse from some up-tight cunt with a badge.” She took a swig from her mug of cold coffee to distract herself from the anger slowly bubbling inside. “I don’t care if he’s a high-ranking officer. He got what he deserved.”

Caitlyn sighed. “I need to know exactly what was said, Vi. As close to verbatim as possible.” The sheriff’s eyes never left her frame. “Upon examination, Officer Green was found with a shattered jaw and severe bruising on his lower abdomen and ribs. He must have said something abhorrent to warrant that.”

_Good_ , Vi thought. “How much shit am I in?”

“Just answer my question, please.” Caitlyn’s gaze drifted towards her knuckles; she had removed the bandages protecting them from her gauntlets, the skin varying shades of red and violet. Her eyebrows furrowed worriedly at the sight.

“He called me a dyke,” Vi said, the word heavy on her tongue. “He called me your charity case, he said I lived a “disgusting lifestyle” and I’m not taking that shit, sorry.”

“That’s all?” Caitlyn asked hesitantly.

“The fuck do you mean, that’s all? That’s more than enough.” Fuck, she wasn’t meaning to lose her temper again, especially at the one person who would actually listen to her.

Caitlyn took a step closer. “I’m not being judgemental, Vi. The more I know, the easier it will be to appeal against a suspension. You know damned well that bastard will press charges and I don’t think the court will view the use of a slur as sufficient―”

_Snap_.

“No, it’s more than a fucking slur. You have no idea how much _pain_ that word has made me feel since I was a sumpsnipe.” Vi set her mug down, the liquid splashing over the rim. She didn’t notice. “You’ll never understand that when people use that word, they look at you like you’re some freak. Like you’re a monster for something you have no _fucking_ control over―”

“I understand, Vi, I do―”

“No! No you fucking don’t!” Vi was shouting now. How could she understand?

“Please let me finish.”

“Why? You’re not gay, Cait! You’ll never fucking get it.”

“That’s a bold assumption.”

Vi’s breath hitched in the back of her throat. _Oh._

Caitlyn hesitated for a few seconds, as if debating whether to continue talking. Stunned and silenced, Vi waited for her to collect her thoughts.

“When I was in training after recruitment,” she began, brows knotted, like she was recalling a painful memory, “I grew close to the acting sheriff’s daughter. She was my first love. I knew it was frowned upon, but I pursued it.” Frowning, Caitlyn pulled back the sleeve of her blouse, twisting her wrist to reveal a burn scar. “One night, I snuck into her bedroom through the window. Her father caught us kissing. He picked up the poker from the fireplace and hit me with it, branding my wrist.” Her eyes met Vi’s. “He called me a filthy dyke and threatened to kill me if he ever caught me near his daughter again.”

Vi was speechless. More so than anything, _embarrassed_. Caitlyn smiled at her, pain still shining in her eyes, accompanied by firm determination. “It’s _because_ I understand how you feel that I will do everything in my power to defend you should Green press charges.”

“Shit, Cait, I had no idea.”

“The only other person who knows I’m a lesbian is Jayce. I know the kind of attention these things get and try to avoid them.”

“No, I’m sorry, really―”

Cait held up her hand and Vi closed her mouth. “Don’t be.” Without another word, her boss excused herself from the office, leaving Vi alone and dumbfounded.

Once more that day, Vi settled down in her chair, picked up her pen and attempted to write her report. But a new anxiety plagued her mind:

There was now a slim chance that her boss returned her feelings for her. Slight as it may have been, it was there. And rejection would be far, far more painful that any slur.


End file.
